DELPHINE bedel: Reality Check; Notes on Tourism

“The contemporary tourist, often dislocated and adrift, seeks a vista of the past to understand the present, the contemporary artist can be seen as a journalist (the word comes from journey) who reflects on the world and creates new markers and signs.” (1).

In the perspective of the tourist gaze, the work of Delphine Bedel engages different layers of representation of architecture, of leisure and cultural artifacts. As one of the largest world industries nowadays, tourism and leisure influence our way of life and reflect upon shifting cultural, economic, social and historical realities. There, visual representation, the production of meaning through images, takes center stage. From amusement parks and monuments, to camping and beach resorts, her photographs and videos document sites of tourism in diverse contexts.